Chris Christie

Christopher James “Chris” Christie is an American attorney, politician and member of the Republican Party who has been the 55th Governor of New Jersey since January 2010. His term ends January 23, 2018.

Born in Newark in 1962, Christie volunteered for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Thomas Kean when he was fifteen years old. A 1984 graduate of the University of Delaware, Christie earned a J.D. at Seton Hall University School of Law. Christie joined a Cranford, New Jersey, law firm in 1987, became a partner in 1993, and continued practicing until 2002. He was elected county freeholder Morris County, serving from 1995 to 1998. By 2002, Christie had campaigned for Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush; the latter appointed him as United States Attorney for New Jersey, a position he held from 2002 to 2008.

In January 2009, Christie declared his candidacy for Governor of New Jersey. He won the Republican primary, and defeated incumbent Governor Jon Corzine in the election that November. In 2013, he won re-election as governor, defeating Democrat Barbara Buono, and was sworn in to a second term on January 21, 2014. On November 21, 2013, Christie was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

Christie was seen as a potential candidate in the 2012 presidential election, and though not running, he was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

On June 30, 2015, Christie announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. He suspended his candidacy on February 10, 2016, and later endorsed Donald Trump for president. In May 2016, Trump named Christie to head the transition team preparing for a potential Trump administration. On July 12, 2016, it was reported that Christie was on Trump’s three-person shortlist to be his running mate in the general election, along with Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence. However, on July 15, 2016, Trump officially announced that Indiana Governor Mike Pence will be Trump’s running mate.